Rando Pic of the Day

This is from Halloween 2006, at Georgia Southern. As you can see, I was a kick-ass pirate than year (it's either that or my very realistic vampire comtume.) And Wes was GARY POTTER, Harry's stupid cousin, who goes to Hogwarts Regional Tech, and he is broomstick technician trainee! He even had me marker on a smiley face to his forehead instead of a lightening bolt. Hilarious!

Rando Pic of the Day

This is my beautiful (and arrogant) cat Buddy. This was taken at Christmas 5 years ago (wow, I feel old right now.) My Dad thought it would be funny to cover all the cats with string and watch them flail around trying to get it off....and it WAS! I believe that Buddy thinks this is beneath his dignity and he seems appalled.

More funny cat pics:

Fat Joe as Christmas Ninja Cat.

I think Skimbees was the only cat who thought it was fun!

Craft This!

Hate when you get to the end of the wrapping paper roll with one long strip of paper left that is not wide enough to wrap anything with? Have a lot of scraps after wrapping all those presents that you hate throwing away?? Well, here's a quick little craft for you:

Wrapping Paper Trees

Equipment:

Stiff card stock or light cardboard, needs to be malleable

Leftover wrapping paper

Scissors

Tape, both duct and clear

Step 1- Cut the cardboard into a wide half circle; don't worry too much about neatness at this point. You can trim later. Then cut a small half circle out of the top of the one you just cut, in the middle. This will make a rough U shape.

Step 2- Fold the U-shape around on itself so that it makes a rough cone shape; again, worry about neatness later. Make sure the cone/tepee shape can stand on it's own and that the hole in the top is centered or else your trees will be wonky. Using the duct tape, secure the cone closed.

Step 3: Cut your wrapping paper scraps into rough triangles; the odder shaped, the better. Starting from the bottom, using the clear tape, tape the triangles to your cone. Make sure to overlap the paper strips so that you cover all of the cardboard. Also, it looks better with more angles and strips in lots of layers. With the last triangle, make a neat point at the top-center of your tree and secure.

Step 4- Now trim the bottom of your tree so that the edges are even and straight all the way around. This will make it look nice and keep it standing up right. Run your fingernail along all the tape that shows to make sure it blends in well (*I like Magic tape since it almost disappears.)

Now make a couple more in varying sizes and VOILA! You have yourself a little X-mas tree display!

Food Time!

Well this one isn't really food, but it is for the holidays! It's a recipe to make sure your house smells like Christmas and Home and Happiness; perfect for when you have some guests over and you don't have anything baking or candles (because the good ones are so dang expensive:)

Home for the Holidays

4 whole cinnamon sticks

16-20 whole cloves

3-4 slices of orange, cut into circles not wedges

1 tbsp allspice or pumpkin pie spice

A dash of vanilla extract or a leftover vanilla shelled bean

In a heavy, large saucepan, add 1 quart of water over low heat. Add all ingredients and simmer. This will give off a warm, inviting smell for you and your guests. You can add water as needed.

Leftovers project: When finished, discard water. Dry contents on a paper towel and lay out on a cookie sheet in one layer. Set oven to the lowest temp. or place in a warming drawer for several hours (varies depending on your oven.) This will let it dehydrate, especially the orange slices. Makes a nice potpourri and vase filler.